King Snake Size, Habitat & Behavior

The Coral Snake vs. the Kingsnake

When comparing the coral snake and the kingsnake, it is important to look at the snake's color pattern. A curious case is a milksnake. There are many variations of the milksnake, such as the Eastern, Sinaloan, Red, the Mexican milksnakes. But all of them have in common the same pattern in their bodies. Wide red bands separated by smaller black and yellow bands cover their bodies. This coloration makes them similar to the coral snake, which has red, yellow, and black bands on its body. The way to identify a milksnake is by color order. After the red band, the milksnake has black bands, while the coral snake has yellow bands after its red ones.

Milksnakes look similar to coral snakes.

Coral snakes are venomous, and milksnakes are not. Milksnakes have evolved to appear to have the same colors as the coral snake to ward off potential predators who think it is poisonous.

Other kingsnakes, such as the milksnake, can be found both in North America and in countries further south, such as Ecuador and Venezuela. This type of snake can live in different forests, such as coniferous and tropical. They can also live in grasslands. These snakes seek out caves to hide and live under rocks or fallen logs. The common kingsnake also lives in forests but can live in extreme climates like deserts and near people on farmlands.

Kingsnakes are not poisonous or venomous, as their fangs do not produce venom. A kingsnake's bite can cause pain and discomfort to the victim. Kingsnakes kill their prey by constriction, which is why they have never developed venom in their fangs. Kingsnakes have a cannibalistic nature, as they sometimes eat snakes, even those of their species.

Most kingsnakes are docile. Because of this, humans often capture kingsnakes to sell as pets. They are non-aggressive, but kingsnakes will attack by biting when they feel threatened. One way to identify that a kingsnake feels threatened and is about to attack is its hissing and agitated tail wagging. With this, many of these snakes pretend to imitate the rattlesnake and scare away predators.

Kingsnakes are solitary animals, only looking for a mate to reproduce. Kingsnakes are oviparous, which means they lay eggs. Mating season varies depending on species and habitat. The males look for the females to mate and even fight with other males to achieve it. Depending on the species of kingsnake, the female can lay between 3 and 24 eggs. These will hatch in 2 or 3 months.

Another big difference between these snakes is the way they hunt their prey. Kingsnakes kill through constriction because they do not have venom in their fangs, while rattlesnakes kill their prey by biting and injecting venom from their fangs. Rattlesnakes and kingsnakes eat prey like rodents, birds, and other lizards; however, the kingsnake eats other snakes, while the rattlesnake does not. The kingsnake can even eat a rattlesnake, as it has developed immunity to the rattlesnake's venom, so even if bitten, it can constrict it and kill it.

Another difference is the presence of the rattle. Rattlesnakes shake the rattle in their tail as an alarm sound at the proximity of a threat. The kingsnake does not have that rattle in its tail, but it will still shake its tail to simulate being a rattlesnake.

Kingsnakes live mainly in North America and Mexico. They are adapted to live in different habitats like deserts and forests, and they will hide in rocks or fallen logs to prevent being caught by predators. There are nocturnal and diurnal kingsnakes. Kingsnakes are docile creatures, only attacking when threatened. Kingsnakes are not poisonous, and they use constriction to kill their prey. They are oviparous animals, meaning that females lay eggs, and babies are born from those eggs. Kingsnakes are immune to the venom of a rattlesnake and can eat a rattlesnake. Rattlesnakes and kingsnakes are similar in size; however, rattlesnakes are venomous, lay eggs, and have a different appearance than a kingsnake.